1 I was drinking with friends and chewing thin slices of snow lotus root, and suddenly I missed my hometown. In my hometown, every new autumn morning, many villagers pass by the door: the men have bulging purple arms and calf muscles, and the torso is tall and straight, giving people a sense of health; the women are often wrapped in white and blue flowers. Although they are barefoot, they wear short linen skirts. Although their torsos are not as tall as those of the men, they have a healthy and beautiful look. They each carry a load carrying long, tender, jade-colored lotus roots. In the pond where the lotus roots are produced, and by the winding river outside the city, they wash the lotus roots again and again, so they are so white. It’s as if they think this is a treasure for people to appreciate, which is an important subject in the early morning painting scene. If it is covered with mud, it will break the sense of condensation that people appreciate; this is a sin, and they are not willing to He carried them on his body, so he washed them until they were so white before carrying them into the city. When they want to take a short rest, they put the bamboo pole across the ground, sit on it, and randomly choose the tender lotus root or the older lotus root in the pole, chewing it to quench their thirst. The passers-by stopped, the little girl in red clothes picked one piece, and the white-haired old man bought two. The light and sweet taste became ubiquitous in every household. This situation is almost an ordinary daily lesson, until the leaves are falling and autumn is deep.

2 Here in Shanghai, lotus root is almost a treasure. It was probably also brought from our hometown. But the quantity was not large, and most of them were taken away by the waiters who served the luxurious young men and wealthy businessmen; the rest were stored in larger fruit shops, located between Jinshan apples and Luzon fragrant mangoes. Sell ??for a good price. As for those who carry burdens and hawk on the street, there are not none, but they are either as thin as beggars’ arms and legs, or as astringent as unripe persimmons, which is really unenviable. So, except for once. We haven't eaten lotus root this year.

3 This is the only time we didn’t buy something to eat, it was something given to us by our neighbors. They didn't buy it themselves, they were brought by relatives from their hometown. This lotus root has been away from its hometown for a long time, so it no longer has the color of jade, but it is covered with many rust spots. When peeling off the skin, the blade of the knife went too far, which was very unpleasant. Cut it into slices and chew it in your mouth. It has a sweet taste, but it doesn't have a fresh and tender feeling. It also seems to be full of residue in your mouth. I don't want to eat the second slice. Only the child was very happy. He chewed all the pieces and didn't make any other requests for half an hour.

4 When I think of lotus root, I think of water shield. In spring in my hometown, I eat water shield almost every day. Water shield itself has no taste, the taste lies entirely in the good soup. But such a green color, rich poetry, and tasteless taste are really intoxicating. In the small river next to each street, there are always one or two awning boats resting at the stone pier, filled with water shields, fished from Taihu Lake. Of course you can get a bowl of Japanese food.

5 But it is not the case here in Shanghai. It's hard to eat this without going to a restaurant. Of course we don't go to restaurants, but occasionally we go back to disturb our friends' banquets. It happens to be not the time when water shield is in season, so we haven't eaten it this year. It wasn't until recently that Boxiang's relatives from Hangzhou came and gave him a few bottles of West Lake water shield. He gave me a bottle, and I was able to taste something new.

6 I have never been in love with my hometown, but when I think of this, I feel that my hometown is very cute. I don’t understand myself, why do I have such deep emotions? After thinking about it again, it is actually very simple: because I have a love in my hometown, and the love only exists in my hometown, I can't let go of it. For example, where your close family members are and where your close friends are, how can you not fall in love? How can you not miss it? But is it just for the love of hometown? No, it’s just a few people in our hometown holding us. If there is nothing to tie me to, why should I miss you? Like me now, I am accidentally attracted to lotus root and water shield, so I miss my hometown.

7 Wherever we are, that is our hometown.